Road Maintenance

Responsibility for the roads in Oxford is split between us (Oxford City Council) and Oxfordshire County Council. Generally, we are responsible for minor roads and Oxfordshire County Council are responsible for major roads (e.g. Cowley Road, Banbury Road, the Ring Road, Headington Road etc.)

To report a problem with a road in Oxford, please use our online road defects reporting form. If we are not responsible for this road, we will notify Oxfordshire County Council of the problem.

If the problem is on a road outside Oxford, please use Oxfordshire County Council's online reporting system.

Roadworks

Roadworks in Oxford are the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council.

Local information on disruption to roads in the county is provided on Oxfordshire County Council's Roadworks Online website.

The Highways Agency is responsible for maintaining major roads within the county such as the M40. You can find details of roadworks on these roads on the Highways Agency website.

Road Gritting

Gritting is undertaken when required between November and April.

We work in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council to salt the principal roads in Oxford. There is a set route which includes the busy areas, bus routes, and hilly areas. Not every road in the city is covered by the route. There is a dedicated ice alert system which provides us with accurate forecasting on ground temperatures. The amount of gritting is determined by the severity of the weather. You can download more information about or snow and ice policy and gritting routes below:

Snow and Ice Policy (43kB PDF)
 Gritting Routes Map (1.2MB PDF)

Oxfordshire County Council is responsible for gritting most of the major roads in Oxfordshire. Visit the Winter Maintenance page of their website for salting updates and maps showing gritting routes in the county.

We also maintain grit bins alongside roads in Oxford. We can undertake private gritting work for businesses. Quotations are available on request by calling us on 01865 249811.

Pot Holes

Members of the public are encouraged to report any road hazard so that action can be taken quickly to remove the risk to the public. If we are not responsible for this road, we will notify Oxfordshire County Council of the problem.

Pot holes on minor roads are generally repaired within 3 months of the report. If the problem is identified as dangerous, the timescales shorten accordingly, depending on the seriousness of the problem.

To report a pot hole, please use our online road defects reporting form. When reporting a problem to us, please give as much detail of the size and location of the pot hole as possible.

Road Markings

New road markings are carried out by Oxfordshire County Council. We maintain existing road markings on minor roads in the city.

Visit the Road Markings pages of the Oxfordshire County Council website for full details.

Manhole Covers 

Generally, manhole covers are the responsibility of various utility companies (water, gas, electricity, telephone etc.) If we are notified of a dangerous manhole cover, we will identify who it belongs to and will make arrangements to make it safe. To report a problem please use our online road defects reporting form.

Bollards

Bollards on minor roads are maintained by Oxford City Council. They are installed to protect the highway structure.

Other bollards (particularly rising bollards in the middle of roads) are the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council.

Gullies

Gullies are cleaned yearly and maintained on minor roads by the City Council. Reports of blocked gullies are dealt with within 5 days of report. Retrieval of items dropped into gullies is a chargeable service.

Other Road Maintenance

Visit the Street Maintenance pages of the Oxfordshire County Council website for full details about bridges, dropped kerbs, traffic signals, street lighting, roadside trees and hedges, and traffic management

Private Road/Land Maintenance

Visit our Oxford Direct Services website for more information about the range of commercial services available including road marking, signage manufacture and installation, vehicle access crossings, winter maintenance services and civil engineering works.

Page last reviewed 17 April 2012